Simplicity
by lewdness
Summary: There's a comfortable sort of simplicity in the morning, up until the actual events of the day start, hectic and seemingly never-ending. Post R2, Suzaku Nunnally.


They've settled into a rhythm. It's a comfortable sort of simplicity in the morning, up until the actual events of the day start, hectic and seemingly never-ending. Each morning Suzaku wakes up, showers, dresses in clothes that feel much heavier than they actually are, and heads for Nunnally's room. Each morning, he knocks twice on her door, then enters, knowing that she'll barely be awake by this point.

This morning is no different than any of the others; the door closes behind him and he moves forward quietly, easing himself onto the bed, sitting down and gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "Your Highness," Suzaku murmurs, (and each morning, he thinks about how much he hates his voice sounding like _his_- not because of what Zero represented, but because it's nothing but a reminder of what they lost). "Highness, it's time to get up."

Nunnally shifts, yawning quietly and rolls over, reaching out blindly to grasp his hand, not needing to open her eyes for this, not when she knows he'll slide his hand over and into hers, holding it gently. "Five more minutes," Nunnally murmurs, and just smiles at the partially amused, partially resigned little sigh, knowing she'll get fifteen instead.

Silent while she falls back asleep, Suzaku just lets her hold his hand and reaches the other up to stroke through her hair gently, not minding these short bits of time where he's not responsible for the fate of the world, nor for Japan or Britannia or the Black Knights. Here, for right now, he's just Suzaku and he can pretend that he isn't wearing Zero's outfit, pretend that he doesn't still feel the weight of that sword as he killed his best friend, and Nunnally's older brother.

Eventually, he slides his hand out of hers and shakes her shoulder lightly, tucking some hair behind her ear. "Time to get up," Suzaku murmurs again, a little bit firmer this time, and Nunnally obeys.

He carries her effortlessly around the room, first to her desk, setting her down on the plush little bench so he can brush her hair, careful not to pull too hard. From there, it's either Nunnally doing it, or him braiding it back simply, as that is about all that he can do with the gloves on, and he never, never takes them off- it's something that she's come to accept by now. It's braids this morning, just two loose ones on either side that he twists back and pins with a jeweled little barrette, making sure it looks straight, and then squeezes her shoulder gently before picking her back up again.

A maid could do it- a maid _used_ to do it, in all honesty, but when Nunnally started requesting that Zero wake her up in the morning, he slowly started to take over the responsibilities of whatever maids there were, until he was there every single morning.

Over to the closet they go, Suzaku flipping through dresses until she finds one that she likes, nodding and smiling at him. Taking it down, he hands it over silently and turns to the window, away from her. It takes a while-- Nunnally struggles and fights, even now, because the intricate dresses that she has to wear as Empress are trouble when she can't use her legs, but she refuses to let anyone dress her in the mornings.

Eventually she's done, huffing quietly, and Suzaku turns around, gently lacing the back of the dress up, and starting to fix her hair where it's not laying quite flat or has been mussed by her struggle with the mess of silk and lace. "Breakfast?" Suzaku inquires, knowing the answer before he even asks, but asking it anyway. Nunnally nods, and he scoops her back up again, carrying her down the hall and to the private room that they use for breakfast.

It locks with three different locks, to which only he and Nunnally have the keys. There's only two windows, shaded to keep anyone from looking in, and no way for anyone to spy on them, with the bare walls, to keep liabilities down to a minimum.

Even with all of that, Suzaku never takes off his mask and Nunnally doesn't ask him to. It's a mutual understanding between the two of them- not once has she ever said his name, always carefully calling him Zero, even after figuring it out. He wouldn't have it any other way, not yet. Years from now, maybe, when things are settled and Zero isn't needed any longer (if that time ever comes). Until then, however, he just quietly spreads cream cheese on her bagel, and lets her eat, holding her other hand gently before they leave to face the rest of the world.

* * *

Aaaah, I like post R2 stuff, ahaha.


End file.
